1. Field
The present disclosure relates, in general, to imaging systems, and, more particularly, to improved systems and methods for encoding digital image data in imaging systems.
2. Relevant Background
Digital image capture devices, which may include digital cameras, film scanners, or the like, are often utilized to capture still or moving scenes. For example, in the motion picture industry, sources of image data can include live footage (e.g., captured on camera negative film and digitized in a film scanner, or captured with digital motion picture cameras). Similarly, a digital camera may produce digital image data by capturing a still or moving scene.
Generally, most digital image capture devices incorporate an electronic sensor that includes an array of photo detectors that convert photons that strike them into electrons providing a signal at each pixel proportional to the number of photons, or the amount of light at each pixel. Presently, most digital cameras employ charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. When subjected to light, a photodiode of the image sensor converts incident photons into electrons. This conversion enables analog electronic circuitry to process the image “seen” by the sensor array. The electrons gathered by the sensors may be stored in small capacitors that may be read out as a series of varying voltages, which are proportional to the image brightness. An analog to digital converter (ADC or A/D) may be operative to convert the series of varying voltages into corresponding digital values of digital image data. For example, an ADC may convert the series of voltage levels into binary numbers having 10 to 12 hits, or 1024 to 4096 different discernible levels, and the digital values produced by the ADC may be nearly linear with respect to the intensity of the incident light detected by the sensor.